Coupling



March @945. w. DAVIS 2,371,507

COUPLING 1 Filed Jag. 21, 1942 INVENTOR.

FIG. WAL w L. DAV/5 BY M:

Pat'entd Mar. 13, 1945 1 walwiii Ia. navisgAvon, ohim zissignonto llqmec V -l 'Bummco mpany; E yfl hDh .a;:qqmqraition@q.trf

Thi in e tm mlm g slnarncQupfir i s, Se a; qcaq ingm with. @1262? hi more nartic.u1ar1y t.o.;s,ha,m coupling capablero z dampening; and/or nelievingntprsionadi VibiQfiPllS, as well as for compensating 0. 2 ammnq/ mm ular misa i nmentq- Although, my coupling: is; mt; ngce ssairi x H11 ited in its field of application andusg ip max-bg conveniently illustratedani dgscnibedQig a-prefenced; f orm in t e.- pa hticular q i mnment; w ich I a iound it to; he! a satisfamtongfsQlu toaavseriolls. Pmb en1--;,As thqsh illedz nv e 'a hvwill recognizs: qextai it pes: of, intszrnal omb t onenginas; su n,;,, tor.- examg e;, as; he: irall d: mime? airplane? engines: among; others may have hi h; torsional vim-anon 7 he c s am; at mam certain. peeds-and 0ads, which. is turn nefl'entqq 1: th pgwei fi takef shafts;- for ami iam r actc sscz lf PiW-a menu, Such shattsia eflz ortgmdesimmx (mm 0- p mp qr other eqpimsam: themuting-m ma 3.

of whi h h m- SubStMI-fiah inert ai. and there. 1%; its a pronounced-if;- nq d ngqr ua--tfinqmcx 2Q shear e: Q mm s; or e tlAewhen he dri in or r n, shaft: 01: Qarts- E n-the. sake 0 prqteqt the-engine r g im mq en there; s often nm d d section ofi im m aw y or, shear: sectio in he? drimb xond'. takgrq Qhafi; the; iu -ctio Q1. wmchis qrshear the: QYQQEQQ stic in welt-10m qr ai mza Qt thq 1.1 m).- Q3; ther rive 'deviesLwhembztmnene thqtak q sha t. nd tsasq e tedmeqh n s n he 611g e. pri m ven f; m l

hazai sclqqfii q er qasi 01f fad whi h mi ht; ixmnai1r rm mv the ensinq prime: movern. the Qfillfilv handswlae tq' thqte zs al. vibration of the take-off shaft is'grea t a f; man is in he s -qall dz "mlim? aixplane n ines e d ive; Qiten iai'ls w direct or- Qt ev PIiQ E' art t ams Qf-QQ empl yed. of commas, .resultfi' in. 0 4m service we the gum ox pm t dr1yen.;1;n n,1,-, mentality.

cw ar -1 is, of cfur se men u dex mb q quitQ armf l to. 11199 6;- t a Qn b ati a- 9 bsc ati angu ar zotatipnupo vamu d i n? strumentalitigs wnene. rq at1 n .-an,w n zfi.

isnecessarym m omimum qr. wi taetox gr; to m nc themo t Thus. abxoad; 09/1 mat is qn ovidea ounyingiordampqninanr el minating tq ffiiQnal vib ationi qr-w ah wer Iggy; eflci nt. n z se Q3, r zsult, lng ns xuqtin coup i g, I have sq haqnmindiul le fililability tq e mm sma r xia and misalignment b tween d i-Y nsaand. d i. .v has. and p r qularl x ne e= q glins m be assoqia gd, with, a pump: ,1. have-nmv dq mm upl ng; 2

Ibi mg d. mnen q Namin insure ta capa le; Qi t ansm, Hague. and t tatign, dfl'asha meimtignpma slime; while ranmi tigfio tudinal section of the coupling and associated parts shown in the preceding figures in assembly with the rotor of a pump and associated with a pump housing in fluid sealing relation therewith.

As shown particularly in Figures 1, 2 and '7, my coupling in this preferred form comprises a driving member I, a primary driven member 2 associated with what I choose to call a secondary driven member '3, not shown in Figure 7, the latter members being connected with the driving member through torque transmitting and vibration dampening rings 4 and 5, which in turn are connected by pins 6 and l. The driving member I includes two diametrically oppositely disposed arms ill and H, each of which are connected to the ring 4 at diametrically opposite points, and

through which the driving torque is transmitted I to the ring in or substantially in the radial plane of the ring. As shown particularly in Figure 6- the driving arm in apertured as at 12 snugly receives a pin i3 having an enlarged head 14 which passes through and snugly fits the aperture IS in the ring 4. For reasons yet to be described the pin l3 also'preferably extends through a sleeve or bushing 16, and the assembly is preferably secured by upsetting or riveting the end of the pin into theend'of the bushing as at H. It will be noted that the head of the pin 14 adjacent to the aperture I5 and adjacent to the radial surface of the ring 4 is preferably chamfered or'rounded 30 somewhat as at 18. and similarly the surface of the arm In which lies adjacent the opposite face of the ring 4 is preferably rounded or chamfered as at l9, so that while the ring is firmly confined and secured in fixed relation to the arm l and the axis of thepin l3, the rounded or chamfered surfaces I8 and I9 facilitate flexing of the ring adjacent these parts.

' The rings 4and 5 may preferably be identical or substantially so, each preferably being made of spring steel or other resilient material and shaped and proportioned about as shown in the drawings, whereby to be flexible across the narrow dimension of the ring but substantially inextensible and unyielding circumferentially and radially. In selecting and designing the rings 4 and 5 those skilled in the art will be mindful of avoiding deleterious hunting or resonance between the'vibrations to be dampened and the natural periods of vibration of the rings as supported and loaded in this preferred or equivalent form. The ring5 is preferably' attached and securedto the driven member 2 at diametrically oppositely spaced points, see particularly Figures 2, 6 and 7, in substantially the same way that the ring 4 is secured to the driving member I, the arms 20 and 2|of the driven member 2, bearing preferably substantially the same relation to the ring 5 that the arms l0 and ii bear to the ring 4, and preferably in the same axial plane of the coupling. p p

In Figure 6 there is shown in detail a preferred connection between the'arin 20 of the driven member 2 and the ring, 5, including the enlarged 5 driven member by an additional flexing of the headed pin 22 preferably riveted into the arm 20 as shown with the enlarged head chamfered or rounded as it faces the ring 5, and the arm 28 being rounded as it contacts the faces of the ring 5 preferably in the same way above described in v 70 permitted to have a greater angular lag with rerelation to the chamfered parts l8 and IQ of the pin l3 and arm l0 respectively. In normal operation all of the torque transmitted to the driven member 2 is transmitted to it through the ring 5.

To transmit torque from the ring 4 to the ring 5I provide pins or connectors 6 and I, which 10 and 2|.

' larged view in Figure 5, these pins or connectors,

when the coupling is free from torque, lie substantially parallel to the axes of the rings 4 and 5 and to the axes of the driving and driven members and are each connected to both rings pref- 5 erably at diametrically oppositely spaced points.

of which the pin 1 is there specifically illustrated,

are both connected to the rings 4 and 5 as by having reduced shanks 25 and 26 passing through Japp'ropriate and snugly fitting apertures in the rings 4 and 5 respectively, and carrying bushings 21 and 28 into which the shanks 25 and 25 are respectively secured as by enlarging or riveting at 29. or 38. The faces of the bushings 21 and 28 which bear upon the sides of the rings 4 and 5, as well as the shoulders of the pins 6 and 1 which bear upon the opposite faces of the rings, are preferably rounded or chamfered as at'3l and 32 to permit the ring tovflex bodily with respect to the pins 6 and 1, while being held secure and firm in relation thereto at the points of engagement therewith.

With the driving and driven members i and 2 the rings 4 and 5 and the pins 6 and 1 assembled as above described to form a torque transmitting coupling, it will be seen that torque from the driving member will tend directly to rotate the ring 4, and to move the ends of the pins 6 and 1 connected therewith generally circumferentially. As I have endeavored to illustrate more or less diagrammatically in Figure 8, such circumferen tial movement of the ring 4 in the direction of the arrow in the figure, moves the end la of the pin 1 upwardly as against the tendency of the other 0 end 1b of the pin 1 to tend to lag by virtue of the load or resistance to movement of the ring 5 and the associated driven member and instrumentality. As shown in Figure 8, the load on the system tends to incline the axes of the pins 8 and 1 out of parallelism with the axis of the coupling,

and this tendency is reflected in flexing the rings 4 and 5 transversely into something of a sinuous shape as illustrated with exaggeration in Figure 8. The rings 4 and 5 being resilient tend, of course,

to regain their planar or straight line condition as distinguished from the sinuous condition 11- lustrated, and this tendency of the rings to resist the deformation shown in Figure 8 measures more or less the load on the coupling, 1. e., the torque transmitted.

Under a constant smooth load with constant and smooth input of torque, the rings will come toa substantially constant state of flexure under their imposed loads 'transmittingtorque from the the driving to the driven member. When, however, the imposed torque fluctuates, i. e., when the driving member is rotating under the condition of torsional vibration, an additional increment of torque can only be transmitted to the rings which'increases the angular displacement of the axes of the pins 6 and l withrelation to the axis of the coupling. Through such movement of the pins 6 and l the driven member is diately nor abruptly transmitted to the driven member:- If thedriving imemberi is iafllicted iwithfi aitorsional vibration; .is: e'.,. tending momentarily: toz= ihcrease andi decrease. itsangular: velocity; theses tendencies: are absorbed in. my coupling-:- through 'thaflexingrofi the ringssand thevcanting of the :pins wand: Tr without: transmitting: the: Viibrationi or momentary fluctuations of; torque 13013 the driven-member other thanin aamuchxdampened and smoothed 'out form. C-Ionversely,.the:v driving member- I: does-not haveaimposedmponit the-sharp-reactions-of :inertia androtherwisefrom-z the/driven member. through the coupling, since; themeactionsare absorbed in; much ithe-tsames. way thatitheyibrations::and other uneven :impositions; of torque-areabsorhed.

Atithis=pointinthe-adescriptionofrthispreferrech formiof my.:imp'roved. coupling, ittumay also be: noted that the connections; between the. driving I and? driven members; and a the rings: 4". and; 5; and; the connections.v between" the? pins: Ii and I: andl thevsa'me: rings; are inplanes: at; right; angles? to; each-(other and permit; the coupling tcr rotate: freely and transmit :torque evenly, even when: the; axes of the 1 driving and driven members; are :not; in perfect; alignment,- since-misalignment within. reasonable. limits: tends 5 to be. absorbed in. .what; ma yxbe called 1 aprez-flexing-s-ofz the. springs in:- ope 1 positely balanced. ways Although: the .flexingqof thee springarings 1 4 -1 and 5; .due to misalignment of; the .drivingzand drivenv members, may be substan-v tial-1,11 the 3 aggregate; of" such: flexing is; balancedi throughout each revolution,- .so that. thesaggregatei result of flexing the springs under the=torsionali loadiof' the couplingzisxnot materially altered under conditions of misalignment.

In the preferred embodiment of my couplings herein illustrated, the driving member I preferably has a tongue or equivalent portion T for a driving connection with a member such as a power-take-ofi shaft S, see Figure 9, albeit any form or connection at this point, whether splined or otherwise, might have been illustrated with equal purpose to show a means for connecting the driving member with the engine, prime mover or other driving means. In the form herein illustrated,'the driven member 2 preferably has a slot 40, see Figures 4 and 7, through which in the present instance protrudes a split tongue com- 9. The tongue 4l-'-42 in the present instance preferably has a close sliding fit in smaller dimension of the slot 40 of the driven member 2 and a very free flt in the larger dimension of the slot 40, permitting the driven member 2 to have freedom of radial, tipping and longitudinal motion with respect to the secondary driven member 3 while maintaining a positive angular relation therewith while transmitting torque thereto; The secondary driven member 3 in the form herein illustrated has a disk-like body 43 from the midportion of which the split tongue 4 I-42 protrudes and on its opposite face has a tongue or equivalent 44 for driving engagement with a oorresponding groove 45 in the rotor shaft S of the driven instrumentality, see Figure 9.

As also shown in Figure 9,'I have illustrated that the disk-like portion 43 of the driven member 3 has an annular groove 46 and a smooth annular face 41 which bears upon and has free running contact with a fixed sealing ring 48,

' whereby to provide a running fluid seal along the surface 41. Where the driven instrumentality is a fluid pump, as illustrated particularly in Figure 9, the fluid seal at 41 functions in coaction with 19.3 driving member; The.:ring -.52 isaaperturedaasmt-i 5.41 and. clears: the adj acent; shaft=lile,- portions- 55i ofitheidriving member wherebystohave. freedom of i movement: other; than: circumferential; move? ment therewith; under driving; conditions. The- 1m ring.';52 isurged :tothe right as iviewed in Eigura 95:. by a. rubber-like; preferably synthetic,- gasket; 5.6: with respect; tor which the ring; 52, has; both i axially and radially; 'yieldingbearing, .Sth31t;.th8; ring; 52;;isrenabled-to :maintain ,aflush--.and con-r tinuous; engagement ,with' the ring; I even when the driving member; I is-;.-guilty;- of; limited; m-is alignment. As azpractical 'matter the ring;5:2 may; wellibe driven by frictional iengagementawith the asketg56; the-lugs 53;"complementing the drive.-

2553 andi-preyenting; the ring from? slipping. on; the;

gasket: It may beJ-noted in passing thatithe gas?" ket; 56'- is conveniently. disposednear a; reduced.

cross sectional portion "of the 1' driving. member:- I I which functions as .afishean section. 5.1 for the.

3p; purpose first above described of protecting; the

prime moverin the event: the driven-instrumen tality should stick or exert-an-.overload uponithef coupling or the take-off shaft S.

A illustrated, alsov particularly in1Figure'-. 1, a

; spring, 60:: is held in compression: between the,

secondary driven member 3 and the driving member I, tending to force those members apart and tending to force the surface 41 of the member 3 into contact with the stationary sealing ring the spring 60 upon the driving member I and the secondary driven member 3. In this way the sealing function of the assembled parts may be performed efficiently without impairing the torque transmitting, vibration dampening and aligning functions of the coupling.

Particularly where my coupling is intended to be used where it is desirable that torque continues to be transmitted from the driving means to the driven instrumentality, even under relatively adverse conditions should the primary function of the coupling fail to be performed as by the failure of one or the other of the spring rings 4 or 5 and their associated parts, I have in this preferred form of my invention provided what I call an emergency or safety connection in the form of a slotted hub comprising the parts 10 and II extending leftwardly from the driving member I as viewed in Figures 1, 2, 7 and 9, and freely receiving between them the lugs 4| and 42 of the split tongue of the secondary driven member. As shown particularly in Figures 1 and 4, the lugs I0 and II are so spaced from contact with the lugs 4| and 42 that under normal driving conditions, which include the dampening of torsional vibrations and relative angular and/or axial movement between the driving and driven members, these lugs have no contact with each other whereby to limit or impair the above described functions of the coupling. The lugs, however, are so positioned and spaced one from the other that upon failure of the coupling to perform its normal driving function, the lugs will engage and transmit torque directly from the primary driving member to the secondary drivenmember, and thus continue the rotation of the driven instrumentality by direct contact, even though such contact is less than ideal for the purposes above described. The connection, however, will be a tongue and groove connection with enough gross clearance to comprise a workable drive even with some compensation for axial and angular misalignments between the driving member and the secondary driven member, and while perhaps imposing undesirable loads and stresses on the parts, will function as well as prior art couplings of the general tongue groove type, and give emergency service.

While I have described certain preferred and modified forms of my invention, other modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit there of, and I do not care to be limited to the particu-= lar forms herein shown or in any manner other than by the claims appended hereto when construed with the range of equivalents to which they are entitled in view of my advance from the state of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A coupling comprising a driving member, a driven member, a, secondary driven member, re-

silient torque transmitting means connecting said driving and driven members, means carried by said driving member and said secondary driven member adapted to enact an transmit torque upon failure or said resilient torque transmitting -means, said driven member and said secondary driven member being connected together for the transmission of rotation and otherwiseiree to move with respect to each other.

having a running fluid sealing fit with the other of said parts, axially acting resilient means urging said members apart and into sealing contact with said fixed parts, a secondary driven member disposed between said driving and driven members and having a driving connection with said driven member and freedom of axial movement therewith, yielding torque transmitting means connecting said driving member and said secondary driven member and joining said members in driving relation with relative axial and angular motion under the influence of changes in torque transmitted therebetween, said driv-- ing and driven members being maintained in constant axial relation to said fixed parts while hav ing relative angular movement under changes in torque while said secondary driven member and said driven member have relative axial movement thereunder.

- WALWIN L. DAVIS. 

